A fresh series of attacks blamed on an Islamist group tore through Nigeria's second largest city of Kano, killing at least 185 people.
KANO, Nigeria – Police say 185 people were killed in an attack by a radical Islamist sect on the northern Nigeria city of Kano.Initial reports suggest that the death toll was 7, but rose after more than 100 bodies were brought to the morgue in the city's center.
In a statement issued late Monday, the department said 150 of the dead were civilians, 29 were police officers, three were secret police officers, two were immigration officers and one was a customs officer.
The announcement comes as police say they have found 10 unexploded car bombs in the city.
Friday's attack in Kano saw Boko Haram members hit police stations, immigration offices and the local headquarters of Nigeria's secret police, leaving corpses in the streets across the city.
Earlier in the month, police had arrested the suspected mastermind of a deadly series of blasts targeting Christian churches outside the capital of Abuja, but he escaped when the police convoy transporting him came under fire less than a day later.
In Kano, local police discovered vehicles laden with explosives at checkpoints and during a search of the city on Monday.
Security in Nigeria's second largest city has been beefed up since Friday when bomb attacks and fierce gun battles between the sect and police killed at least 178 people.Police also claim that they killed four Boko Haram operatives in Maiduguri, which is the northern town where Boko Haram was founded in 2012.
"The police were on a stop-and-search today and in two of the checkpoints, the Boko Haram members on sighting the checkpoints abandoned their vehicles and ran," a high-level police officer told Reuters, asking not to be named.
"The vehicles were later checked and the cars were loaded with explosives. Two brand new Hilux open pick-up vans were also found packed with explosives in the Bompai area of Kano."
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